What Causes Climate?

"What is climate?"

"What factors determine climate?

Climate is the average weather conditions of a certain area

Climate refers to the conditions of temperature, wind, clouds, and precipitation in an area

What determines the type of climate a certain region will have?

Latitude: distance from the equator

Tropical Zone= Very warm and humid air

Polar Zone= Cold, dry air

Temperate Zone= Warm and hot in the summer, cool and cold in the winter.

Dry Zone= dry because moisture is rapidly evaporated from the air and there is very little precipitation.

Continental Zone= These regions have warm to cool summers and very cold winters.

Some other factors:

Altitude: height above or below sea level

Some other factors:

Altitude: The higher you move up in the atmosphere, the air becomes colder.

Some other factors:

Altitude: The lithosphere of the Earth absorbs more sun, so it will feel hotter on land than if you were in the sky

Some other factors:

Distance from Large Bodies of Water:  Ocean and Lakes moderate the temperatures of nearby land.

Closer to water= cold and windy

Some other factors:

A body of water affects an area's climate by keeping temperatures lower than normal during the summer and higher than normal during the winter.

Some other factors:

Bodies of water absorb heat from the atmosphere much slower than nearby land. This makes the land areas feel warmer than the areas closest to water.

Some other factors:

In tropical regions during the winter months, the temperature feels warmer closest to the water because it releases heat at a slower rate, keeping the area near the water warmer for a longer period of time.

Some other factors:

  Ocean Currents: streams of water within the oceans that move in regular patterns

 Warm water currents bring warm, humid air to the region

Cold water currents bring cool, damp air to the region

 Prevailing Winds:  move large air masses into and out of a region.

 The amount of water vapor in the air will influence how much rain or snow will fall.

 Factors Affecting Precipitation

Mountain Ranges

1.  When humid winds blow from the ocean towards coastal mountains they are forced to rise.

2. The rising air cools and its water vapor turns to clouds.

3. Rain or snow falls on the windward side of the mountains, the side the wind hits.

4. The land on the leeward side of the mountains, downwind, is in a rain shadow and very little precipitation falls there

 Factors Affecting Precipitation

Seasonal Winds

1. A seasonal change in wind patterns can affect precipitation

Monsoons:  sea or land breeze over a large region that changes direction with the seasons.

The Seasons

 Tilted Axis:  the seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis as it travels around the sun.

Winter in Northern Hemisphere=Summer in Southern Hemisphere

 When Earth is tilted away from the sun it is Winter.

 When Earth is tilted towards the sun it is Summer